The measure of how far an object has moved from its starting point is called displacement.

Here's why:

* Distance measures the total length of the path traveled. It doesn't care about the direction.

* Displacement is a vector quantity, meaning it has both magnitude (how far) and direction. It only cares about the straight-line distance between the starting and ending points.

Example:

Imagine you walk 5 meters north, then 5 meters south.

* Distance: You traveled a total of 10 meters.

* Displacement: Your displacement is 0 meters because you ended up back at your starting point.